Kaduna govt imposes curfew on Jema’a, Kaura councils

The Kaduna State Security Council has imposed a 24-hour curfew on Jema’a and Kaura Local Government.
The government said the curfew became necessary to protect life and property and avoid a further breakdown of law and order following the recent attacks.
A statement by Governor Nasir El-Rufai’s media aide, Samuel Aruwan, said: “All security agencies on special operation in the two councils have been directed to ensure strict compliance. Only essential workers and those on humanitarian services are allowed movement after due clearance by security agents.”
A traditional ruler in Kaninkon, a community under attack on Monday, Mallam Tanko Tete, said his chiefdom would expose enemies of unity in the land and restore peace.
He spoke when he received officials of the Global Peace Foundation Nigeria at his palace in Bakin Kogi, following the attacks on Bakin Kogi, a community in his chiefdom.
Tete called on relevant agencies to ensure the perpetrators were apprehended and prosecuted.
Northern Co-coordinator of Global Peace Foundation Nigeria Rev. John Joseph Hayab said the visit was to condole with the people of Kaninkon and Southern Kaduna for the attack on Bakin Kogi.
He condemned the attack, saying the foundation would spread its vision of “One Family Under God” by brokering peace and harmony among the people of Southern Kaduna.
The Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU) has kicked against the 24-hour curfew, saying it had done more harm than good in the past.
President Musa Kaptain Solomon said: “I want the position of SOKAPU to be clear. We are in support of any lawful measure that would bring peace. We are not against any curfew if it would make us more secure, but our experience in the past few weeks has shown that anytime a curfew is imposed, it keeps our people at home for the marauders to attack easily.
“It was under a curfew and the heavy presence of police that Goska, a short distance from Kafanchan, was attacked last December. It was also a 24-hour curfew that some youths were killed in Samaru Kataf in January.
“The curfew in Zangon Kataf lasted for two weeks. People stayed indoors, markets and schools were shut. The victims of the violence were further punished while the killers roamed freely. It became very difficult for many to feed their households. If this latest curfew will lead to arresting the murderers, good and fine. But if it is just to add to our suffering by being forced to stay at home, then we beg to differ,” he said.